Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[gazthomas]

Oasis and Warehouse clothing chains to enter administration. They had been struggling for some time anyway: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52285231

 

[Peter Sarf]

I take it the security guard is there so that customers don't inadvertently pay twice for the same item, which is a quite common occurrence in the one self service till at my local WHS

Ah and then others have the duty to make up for the discrepancy by paying one time less than once

 

[Peter Sarf]

Oasis and Warehouse clothing chains to enter administration. They had been struggling for some time anyway: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52285231

Oh well, I suppose any company that was in a weak position before Covid-19 has very slim chances of surviving. It's just the last straw. For retail the only light at the end of the tunnel would be if internet shopping stopped. I think, unfortunately, it is possible that the amount of internet shopping will have permanently risen by the time Covid-19 is over because more people will have been forced to 'discover' online shopping and won't go back.

I have always been a reluctant online shopper but I am finding more and more DIY components can only be sourced online.

 

[gazthomas]

Oh well, I suppose any company that was in a weak position before Covid-19 has very slim chances of surviving. It's just the last straw. For retail the only light at the end of the tunnel would be if internet shopping stopped. I think, unfortunately, it is possible that the amount of internet shopping will have permanently risen by the time Covid-19 is over because more people will have been forced to 'discover' online shopping and won't go back.

I have always been a reluctant online shopper but I am finding more and more DIY components can only be sourced online.

Spot on Peter, it really is an economic example of Darwinian natural selection and the "survival of the fittest".

 

[krus_aragon]

Oasis and Warehouse clothing chains to enter administration. They had been struggling for some time anyway: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52285231

Struggling so much, I'm hard-pressed to think whether I'd ever heard of them.

(Admittedly, I'm not really the target audience for the fashion clothing market. Plus, they probably didn't sell trousers in my size anyway.)

 

[RichT54]

Debenhams has agreed terms on 120 branches, but seven stores will not reopen when the government lifts coronavirus restrictions on non-essential shops. However, the department store chain acknowledged a "handful" more sites could be at risk.

The stores which will not reopen are:

• Truro
• Stratford-upon-Avon
• Salisbury
• Westfield, west London
• Warrington
• Leamington Spa
• South Shields

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52330268

 

[_toommm_]

Currently, JL has deployed many store staff into Waitrose where the current volume of business, the additional distancing measures and their own staff sickness has made good use of them. JL's business is probably minimising the impact of it's loss of store footfall by expediting click and collect* and deliveries efficiently.
* JL click and collect is another load on Waitrose resources.

John Lewis actually gave us all the option of if we wanted to furlough or not. If we chose to continue to work (like I have) then our hours and availability was matched with stores in the area, and we were then told we can work at x branch of Waitrose, or be furloughed for the time being. Those who are told to furlough can be ‘called into action’ if Waitrose staff get ill.

The good thing about JL where I am is that it’s at the tip of Cheshire, so we’ve got lots of Waitroses to be redeployed to. There’s also the fact that JL items can be click and collected in a Waitrose, and returned there too so it makes for quite a good business model.

Wevs all had a smaller bonus this year anyway (only 2% compared to the previous year’s 3%), but were doing pretty well as a Partnership at the moment luckily all things considered.

 

[Dai Corner]

John Lewis actually gave us all the option of if we wanted to furlough or not. If we chose to continue to work (like I have) then our hours and availability was matched with stores in the area, and we were then told we can work at x branch of Waitrose, or be furloughed for the time being. Those who are told to furlough can be ‘called into action’ if Waitrose staff get ill.

The good thing about JL where I am is that it’s at the tip of Cheshire, so we’ve got lots of Waitroses to be redeployed to. There’s also the fact that JL items can be click and collected in a Waitrose, and returned there too so it makes for quite a good business model.

Wevs all had a smaller bonus this year anyway (only 2% compared to the previous year’s 3%), but were doing pretty well as a Partnership at the moment luckily all things considered.

The ability to reduce pay via the bonus system as an alternative to redundancies and store closures is an advantage of the employee ownership model in hard times. There's a chart in this link showing the latest bonus is the lowest since 1953.

John Lewis staff bonus at 67-year low as more closures announced

Three Waitrose stores to shut this year, putting about 400 jobs at risk

www.theguardian.com

 

[talltim]

Struggling so much, I'm hard-pressed to think whether I'd ever heard of them.

(Admittedly, I'm not really the target audience for the fashion clothing market. Plus, they probably didn't sell trousers in my size anyway.)

I’m going to take a punt and suggest that their clothes might have been the wrong sex for you too

 

[krus_aragon]

I’m going to take a punt and suggest that their clothes might have been the wrong sex for you too

They might have been - I really don't know what their product lineup is!

 

[Butts]

Struggling so much, I'm hard-pressed to think whether I'd ever heard of them.

(Admittedly, I'm not really the target audience for the fashion clothing market. Plus, they probably didn't sell trousers in my size anyway.)

Are you a bachgen tew ? - not that there is anything wrong with that

 

[krus_aragon]

Are you a bachgen tew ? - not that there is anything wrong with that

Not at all, much more of a bachgen tal.

 

[Taunton]

The ability to reduce pay via the bonus system as an alternative to redundancies and store closures is an advantage of the employee ownership model in hard times. There's a chart in this link showing the latest bonus is the lowest since 1953.

I think in the current circumstances you are doing very well to be getting a bonus, and its nothing to do with employee ownership. Many companies, while looking OK for cash, with the present uncertainty are not paying any executive bonus or shareholder dividends, and a number are not paying their directors (only) anything at all, but putting those amounts into reserves, just in case. Now if things recover quickly they can release it, if not it keeps the company, and the line employees, going. Who knows which will happen.

 

[Butts]

Not at all, much more of a bachgen tal.

Apologies, I'm 6' 3" so I know where you are coming from !!!

 

[Chew Chew]

i would hope Wetherspoons and Sports Direct, obviously with staff managing to find work elsewhere, but that is very unlikely to happen.

 

[Peter Sarf]

i would hope Wetherspoons and Sports Direct, obviously with staff managing to find work elsewhere, but that is very unlikely to happen.

I can see a lot of pubs going under. A dying business anyway. Pubs that do food and descent beer, like Wetherspoons, have more chance.

 

[cactustwirly]

I can see a lot of pubs going under. A dying business anyway. Pubs that do food and descent beer, like Wetherspoons, have more chance.

Wetherspoons isn't a food destination, and the beers are the generic ones you get everywhere.
Your local gastropub & free house is much more likely to survive, being an experience, not a generic mediocre rough town pub.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Wetherspoons isn't a food destination, and the beers are the generic ones you get everywhere.
Your local gastropub & free house is much more likely to survive, being an experience, not a generic mediocre rough town pub.

Wetherspoons is the McDonalds of pubs. I don't mean that in a bad way - it is better food of course but the parallel is consistency across the country. You know what you are going to get. The beers do vary, the real ales are more likely to be local with a few national ones thrown in. It is also cheap. It is a free house but a large chain. As for 'Gastropub' - a really good pub/restaurant I think will be at the top of the survivor list.

 

[bussnapperwm]

Wetherspoons is the McDonalds of pubs. I don't mean that in a bad way - it is better food of course but the parallel is consistency across the country. You know what you are going to get. The beers do vary, the real ales are more likely to be local with a few national ones thrown in. It is also cheap. It is a free house but a large chain. As for 'Gastropub' - a really good pub/restaurant I think will be at the top of the survivor list.

I think Whitbread is more likely to close more branches than the likes of Spoons. Their Brewers Fayre in Stourbridge is dead during the day

 

[Jamesrob637]

I think that Wetherspoon will reduce but by no means completely go under. Some branches especially in non-rail towns may close, and some cities will see their branches reduced by one (the least profitable) maybe if another branch expands if it has some vacant land next to, in front of or behind it.

According to the Wetherspoon app there are currently 869 branches in Great Britain and Ireland. I can see this reducing to the mid-to-late 700s.

 

[Andrew S]

I wonder if the publicity about Wetherspoons only reluctantly paying their furloughed staff will put many potential customers off using them in the future? Perhaps, but perhaps not if they offer the right product/price with little direct competition in given catchments.

I have heard that they are also witholding payments to suppliers, potentially pushing small brewers close to bankruptcy. Some of them are talking of refusing to supply the chain in future, given they already wait longer than normal for payment.

 

[Chew Chew]

I wonder if the publicity about Wetherspoons only reluctantly paying their furloughed staff will put many potential customers off using them in the future? Perhaps, but perhaps not if they offer the right product/price with little direct competition in given catchments.

I have heard that they are also witholding payments to suppliers, potentially pushing small brewers close to bankruptcy. Some of them are talking of refusing to supply the chain in future, given they already wait longer than normal for payment.

I think, and hope, their behaviour will have an impact on future custom.

In Scotland we've already had a brewery say that they will not deal with Wetherspoons in the future.

 

[Cowley]

I think, and hope, their behaviour will have an impact on future custom.

In Scotland we've already had a brewery say that they will not deal with Wetherspoons in the future.

The cynical side of me says that if they still manage to sell alcohol and food at their previous low prices then they won’t have any problem attracting customers once this is all over, even if 5% - 10% of their pre lockdown custom base stop using them for ethical reasons.
People will be short of money but will still want to go out for a pub meal so in many ways they’ll probably do all right out of this as long as they’re eventually allowed to reopen again at some point.

 

[devonexpress]

I'm still expecting Carphone Warehouse to go into administration, Otherwise it will mainly be companies that only just survived the 2008 crash and are still trading, Debenhams etc. Argos will probably shut all it's sole stores with all of them being inside a Sainsbury's, M&S will probably heavily reduce it's clothing stores, and focus more on food. Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air are both on the brink following the failed Flybe management. First Bus is a bit rocky, although I think they will survive, but more of the less profitable subsidiaries will be given the chop.

 

[C J Snarzell]

Wetherspoons is the McDonalds of pubs. I don't mean that in a bad way - it is better food of course but the parallel is consistency across the country. You know what you are going to get. The beers do vary, the real ales are more likely to be local with a few national ones thrown in. It is also cheap. It is a free house but a large chain. As for 'Gastropub' - a really good pub/restaurant I think will be at the top of the survivor list.

I actually don't think JD Weatherspoons is that cheap now. A pint of premium lager at my local Weatherspoons is around £3 - £3.50. They did do a quite cheaper drinks menu 15-20 years ago where you could go for an evening session and quite comfortably not spend more than £20. They do still do a Monday Club where you can save 50p for selected drinks. My pet hate about Weatherspoons is their pubs are like cattle markets at times - impossible to get served, no where to sit & vacant tables being left piled high with plates & glasses not collected in.

CJ

 

[Chew Chew]

The cynical side of me says that if they still manage to sell alcohol and food at their previous low prices then they won’t have any problem attracting customers once this is all over, even if 5% - 10% of their pre lockdown custom base stop using them for ethical reasons.
People will be short of money but will still want to go out for a pub meal so in many ways they’ll probably do all right out of this as long as they’re eventually allowed to reopen again at some point.

Unfortunately I think that you are spot on.

Without being offensive to any Wetherspoons customers who might be on this thread the type of people I see at the Wetherspoons I pass on my way home from work are not the sort of people that I expect would consider the behaviour of Tim Martin when they are thinking about what watering hole they wish to visit. It is all about the cheapness. I appreciate that might not be the same everywhere though, anecdotally I know my cousin loves his local Spoons as it is family friendly and not like the rest of the pubs where he lives which are pretty run down.

 

[cactustwirly]

]

Unfortunately I think that you are spot on.

Without being offensive to any Wetherspoons customers who might be on this thread the type of people I see at the Wetherspoons I pass on my way home from work are not the sort of people that I expect would consider the behaviour of Tim Martin when they are thinking about what watering hole they wish to visit. It is all about the cheapness. I appreciate that might not be the same everywhere though, anecdotally I know my cousin loves his local Spoons as it is family friendly and not like the rest of the pubs where he lives which are pretty run down.

Interesting, I find spoons to be a bit rough tbh, especially when compared to other pubs in Leicester. The one by the train station looked really bad, but that's now closed.

The Hope Tap spoons in Reading has a reputation as well, that said other spoons are absolutely fine.

 

[skyhigh]

I'm still expecting Carphone Warehouse to go into administration, Otherwise it will mainly be companies that only just survived the 2008 crash and are still trading, Debenhams etc. Argos will probably shut all it's sole stores with all of them being inside a Sainsbury's...

Carphone Warehouse is part of the same group as PC World - all their standalone stores have closed now so they only have a presence inside Currys/PC World, so I think they'll do okay. I'd be incredibly surprised if Argos shut all their standalone stores (I used to work for them) as they're an important part of their distribution model so there'd have to be a lot of changes to how they work, so I don't think it'd be worth it.

 

[Iskra]

Unfortunately I think that you are spot on.

Without being offensive to any Wetherspoons customers who might be on this thread the type of people I see at the Wetherspoons I pass on my way home from work are not the sort of people that I expect would consider the behaviour of Tim Martin when they are thinking about what watering hole they wish to visit. It is all about the cheapness. I appreciate that might not be the same everywhere though, anecdotally I know my cousin loves his local Spoons as it is family friendly and not like the rest of the pubs where he lives which are pretty run down.

Although not a regular, I did use Spoons a fair bit, but I won't be doing in the future unless there is no other choice. A few people I know have said the same. I think running an ethical business is becoming more important to customers, so I think it will have a substantial effect. Many customers were probably waning anyway due to the owners vociferous support of brexit. I think he's mainly alienating younger customers (students etc), which are the future of his business and I think in the end it will kill the business.

 

[Dai Corner]

Although not a regular, I did use Spoons a fair bit, but I won't be doing in the future unless there is no other choice. A few people I know have said the same. I think running an ethical business is becoming more important to customers, so I think it will have a substantial effect. Many customers were probably waning anyway due to the owners vociferous support of brexit. I think he's mainly alienating younger customers (students etc), which are the future of his business and I think in the end it will kill the business.

Remember over half the population agree with him over Brexit. 'Woke' customers may remember and care about Mr Martin's business practices but I doubt if they're his target ones anyway. I don't frequent student areas so may be wrong.